BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Flowers lie on the finish line of the Boston Marathon on the one year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, on April 15, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. Last year, two pressure cooker bombs killed three and injured an estimated 264 others during the Boston marathon, on April 15, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)Source:
Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images

On Thursday, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in court for the first time in a year and a half, entering a pretrial hearing that'll see lawyers from both sides speak to the judge about jury selection. Five days into the New Year, jury selection will officially begin, and with it Tsarnaev's case; he faces 30 charges, four of which are murder, for allegedly orchestrating and carrying out the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon along with his brother Tamerlan, which left more than 260 injured. If convicted, Tsarnaev could face the death penalty.

The last time Tsarnaev was seen in public was at his arraignment in July 2013 (the attack took place that April). He was 19 at the time, and is now 21; his older brother, Tamerlan, died shortly after the bombing in a stand-off with police.

Some survivors of the marathon are at the hearing, and according to Tweets from reporters who are in attendance, Tsarnaev — formerly known as Jahar to his friends — wore a black sweater and white shirt, and has a beard and longer hair than at his arraignment hearing last July. "Tsarnaev is slouching casually in his chair," tweeted Mike Hayes, a reporter with BuzzFeed. "Looking down. Occasionally looking over at the government's lawyers."

He answered "Yes" or "No" to standard questions, and when asked if he's satisfied with his defense, Tsarnaev apparently responded, "Very much so."